New Conversations in Philosophy, Law, and Politics offers a new agenda for work where these three disciplines meet. It showcases three generations of scholars—from newly minted professors to some of today's most distinguished thinkers. Consisting of fifteen conversations, pairs of chapters dedicated to a single topic, the volume provides intergenerational and multidisciplinary perspectives on aspects of our social world. Each conversation comprises a first paper by a scholar who sets the topic, followed by a second paper by a scholar of a different generation, and usually a different discipline, who offers further insight or commentary. Each conversation thus provides two sets of original thoughts about a matter of lively current interest and interdisciplinary significance. Topics investigated include moral revolutions, AI and democracy, trust and the rule of law, responsibility, praise and blame, reasonableness, duty, political obligation, justice and equality, justice and intersectionality, domination, pornography, intentions in the law, and legal argumentation. Written in clear prose, the volume is accessible by philosophers, lawyers, political theorists, and beyond.

What is law? This question has preoccupied philosophers from Plato to Thomas Hobbes to H. L. A. Hart. Yet many others find it perplexing. How could we possibly know how to answer such an abstract question? And what would be the point of doing so? In Legality, Scott Shapiro argues that the question is not only meaningful but vitally important. In fact, many of the most pressing puzzles that lawyers confront—including who has legal authority over us and how we should interpret constitutions, statutes, and cases—will remain elusive until this grand philosophical question is resolved. Shapiro draws on recent work in the philosophy of action to develop an original and compelling answer to this age-old question. Breaking with a long tradition in jurisprudence, he argues that the law cannot be understood simply in terms of rules. Legal systems are best understood as highly complex and sophisticated tools for creating and applying plans. Shifting the focus of jurisprudence in this way—from rules to plans—not only resolves many of the most vexing puzzles about the nature of law but has profound implications for legal practice as well. Written in clear, jargon-free language, and presupposing no legal or philosophical background, Legality is both a groundbreaking new theory of law and an excellent introduction to and defense of classical jurisprudence.

The collection of essays in this anthology is divided into three categories, namely “social epistemology”, “epistemology”, and “freedom”, respectively. The first category addresses questions related to the social dimensions of knowledge. Various issues are interrogated, including the lack of attention to testimony in much standard philosophizing, the need for advocacy, and the role of history-making in social reconstruction. The second category deals more directly with some of the concepts that generally crop up in the theory of knowledge, provoking questions such as: How much do we really know about each other? What is the content of the knowledge we think we have, and how far does it depend upon our social being? What is the relationship between knowledge and truth? Essays in the third category deal with the concept of freedom both at a personal and a social level and discuss dilemmas such as: To what extent are some of the arguments put forward in favour of genetic determinism flawed or sensible? Does the idea of genetic influence pose a threat to freedom? What is the area within which the subject is, or should be left to do, or be, without interference from other persons? In this era of globalization, is cosmopolitanism or communitarianism by itself sufficient for promoting freedom? Conversations in Philosophy: Knowledge and Freedom is the second book in a series, based on a selection of papers presented at the annual Cave Hill Philosophy Symposium. The first book, Conversations in Philosophy: Crossing the Boundaries (published in 2008, also by Cambridge Scholars Publishing) consisted of essays that revolved around the question of the nature and meaning of philosophy. This second volume of Conversations in Philosophy offers a careful and balanced examination of many issues that recur in discussions on knowledge and freedom. The essays are thoughtful, provocative, and challenging.

Over the last several decades, questions about practical reason have come to occupy the center stage in ethics and metaethics. The Routledge Handbook of Practical Reason is an outstanding reference source to this exciting and distinctive subject area and is the first volume of its kind. Comprising thirty-six chapters by an international team of contributors, the Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the field and is divided into five parts: Foundational Matters Practical Reason in the History of Philosophy Philosophy of Practical Reason as Action Theory and Moral Psychology Philosophy of Practical Reason as Theory of Practical Normativity The Philosophy of Practical Reason as the Theory of Practical Rationality The Handbook also includes two chapters by the late Derek Parfit, ‘Objectivism about Reasons’ and ‘Normative Non-Naturalism.’ The Routledge Handbook of Practical Reason is essential reading for philosophy students and researchers in metaethics, philosophy of action, action theory, ethics, and the history of philosophy.

An incisive argument for the relevance of political philosophy and its possibility of effecting change. The appeal of political philosophy is that it will answer questions about justice for the sake of political action. But contemporary political philosophy struggles to live up to this promise. Since the death of John Rawls, political philosophers have become absorbed in methodological debates, leading to an impasse between two unattractive tendencies: utopians argue that philosophy should focus uncompromisingly on abstract questions of justice, while pragmatists argue that we should concern ourselves only with local efforts to ameliorate injustice. Agents of Change shows a way forward. Ben Laurence argues that we can combine utopian justice and the pragmatic response to injustice in a political philosophy that unifies theory and practice in pursuit of change. Political philosophy, on this view, is not a purely normative theory disconnected from practice. Rather, political philosophy is itself a practiceÑan exercise of practical reason issuing in action. Laurence contends that this exercise begins in ordinary life with the confrontation with injustice. Philosophy draws ideas about justice from this encounter to be pursued through political action. Laurence shows that the task of political philosophy is not complete until it asks the question ÒWhat is to be done?Ó and deliberates actionable answers.

The Laws is Plato's last, longest, and perhaps, most famous work. It presents a conversation on political philosophy between three elderly men: an unnamed Athenian, a Spartan named Megillus, and a Cretan named Clinias. They worked to create a constitution for Magnesia, a new Cretan colony that would make all of its citizens happy and virtuous. In this work, Plato combines political philosophy with applied legislation, going into great detail concerning what laws and procedures should be in the state. For example, they consider whether drunkenness should be allowed in the city, how citizens should hunt, and how to punish suicide. The principles of this book have entered the legislation of many modern countries and provoke a great interest of philosophers even in the 21st century.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERBLACKWELL'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021Essential lessons on the world we live in, from one of our greatest young thinkers - a guide to what everybody is talking about today'Unparalleled and extraordinary . . . A bracing revivification of a crucial lineage in feminist writing' JIA TOLENTINO'I believe Amia Srinivasan's work will change the world' KATHERINE RUNDELL'Rigorously researched, but written with such spark and verve. The best non-fiction book I have read this year' PANDORA SYKES-------------------------How should we talk about sex? It is a thing we have and also a thing we do; a supposedly private act laden with public meaning; a personal preference shaped by outside forces; a place where pleasure and ethics can pull wildly apart. To grasp sex in all its complexity - its deep ambivalences, its relationship to gender, class, race and power - we need to move beyond 'yes and no', wanted and unwanted. We need to rethink sex as a political phenomenon. Searching, trenchant and extraordinarily original, The Right to Sex is a landmark examination of the politics and ethics of sex in this world, animated by the hope of a different one.SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2022LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2022LONGLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE 2022